Two years ago, Siraj Ansari, a businessman from Nandurbar was jolted out of his normal life after he encountered severe breathlessness. This made it difficult for him to do his daily activities, and concentrate on his business. He consulted a few medicos who confirmed that he suffered from Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) which can ultimately lead to heart failure.
CTEPH is a rare and progressive form of pulmonary hypertension (PH) wherein the repeated blood clots in one’s lung get stuck, and tend to clog arteries which may turn into scar tissue, as time passes. Furthermore, the blood vessels become narrow and clogged, and pulmonary pressure increases, and causes PH. This means one’s right side of the heart has to pump harder to get blood pass through and leads to a back-up of blood returning from the veins to the heart. Thus, the right side of the heart works harder to keep up with the blood flow, and this may weaken the heart, result in swelling and heart failure.
A team led by Dr Bipeenchandra Bhamre, Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, successfully performed a pulmonary thromboembolectomy on 32-year-old Ansari, who could hardly breathe or walk and would cough up blood continuously. He was put on anticoagulation medications to dissolve the clot in the lungs.“15 days ago, the patient was admitted due to breathlessness. A ventilation-perfusion scan was done which is vital for the diagnosis of CTEPH along with echocardiography which indicated raised pulmonary artery pressures and right ventricle dysfunction,” said Dr Bhamre. He further added, “Sometimes, surgery is considered risky in patients whose pulmonary artery pressure is so high and when right-side heart failure has developed. Surgery is the most ideal in cases of pulmonary hypertension. In fact, patients with the most severe elevated pulmonary artery pressure derive the greatest benefit from surgery.”
The pulmonary thromboembolectomy that Ansari underwent is a curative surgery that removes blood clots and scar tissue from pulmonary arteries. The patient's temperature is brought down to 18-degree celsius and a circulatory arrest technique is performed using a cardiopulmonary bypass machine. The surgery lasted for eight hours and Ansari was discharged after a week. "My life was miserable as I wasn’t able to breathe or swallow food for almost a fortnight owing to severe breathlessness. The surgery did help me bounce back. At least as of now, I'm feeling better.”